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In some instances it's very important to check someone's credentials (for example, your surgeon). But I find it a little invasive and confrontational to ask that of a teacher.

I don't think there is anything invasive or confrontational at all about asking a prospective teacher to discuss her credentials. If the person's credentials are legitimate, then she should be proud of her expertise, and therefore she should be happy to answer questions.

If a teacher behaves as though she finds the prospective student's questions intrusive or inappropriate, then I would wonder what that teacher is trying to hide.

I don't think there is anything invasive or confrontational at all about asking a prospective teacher to discuss her credentials. If the person's credentials are legitimate, then she should be proud of her expertise, and therefore she should be happy to answer questions.

I didn't phrase this very well. I don't mean to say that there is something wrong or intrusive about asking a teacher for her credentials. In an ideal world all teachers would be upfront about them and would tell you in the first class or on their website without being prompted. Since that isn't always the case, different people have different ways of finding out the information. Some people are comfortable about asking, whereas others are shy about it.

What I meant to say is that I, personally, would feel weird about asking because I would feel like I might be coming across as confrontational. I'm just the type of person that doesn't really like putting people on the spot, and even if that's not my intention, I'm always afraid of it being interpreted that way. If the teacher really isn't qualified to be teaching, I simply don't want to be the person to confront her/him about it. If I don't like the class, I will just not come back.

But I don't think it would be wrong for other people to take another approach. If you want to know a teacher's credentials before taking her class, there is nothing inherently wrong with asking. I agree that a qualified teacher will have no problem answering that question.